Chapter V. - A SHAME-FACED KING.

The king laid his flute aside, and walked restlessly and sullenly about his room. His brow was clouded, and he had in vain sought distraction in his faithful friend, the flute. Its soft, melodious voice brought no relief; the cloud was in his heart, and made him the slave of melancholy. Perhaps it was the pain of separation from his sister which oppressed his spirit.

The evening before, the princess had taken leave of the Berliners at the opera-house, that is, she had shown herself to them for the last time. While the prima donna was singing her most enchanting melodies, the travelling carriage of Ulrica drove to the door. The king wished to spare himself the agony of a formal parting, and had ordered that she should enter her carriage at the close of the opera, and depart, without saying farewell.

The people knew this. They were utterly indifferent to the beautiful opera of „Rodelinda,“ and fixed their eyes steadily upon the king's loge. They thus took a silent and affectionate leave of their young princess, who appeared before them for the last time, in all the splendor of her youth and beauty, and the dignity of her proud and royal bearing. An unwonted silence reigned throughout the house; all eyes were turned to the box where the princess sat between the two queens. Suddenly the door was thrown open, and the young Prince Ferdinand rushed, with open arms, to his sister.

„My dear, dear Ulrica!“ he cried, weeping and sobbing painfully, „must it then be so? Do I indeed see you for the last time?“ With childish eagerness he embraced his sister, and leaned his head upon her bosom. The princess could no longer control herself; she mingled her tears with those of her brother, and drawing him softly out of view, she whispered weeping and trembling words of tenderness; she implored him not to forget her, and promised to love him always.

The queen-mother stood near. She had forgotten that she was a queen, and remembered only that she was a mother about to lose her child forever; the thought of royal dignity and courtly etiquette was for some moments banished from her proud heart; she saw her children heart-broken and weeping before her, and she wept with them. [Footnote: Schneider's „History of the Opera and the Royal Opera- House.“]

The people saw this. Never had the most gracious smile, the most condescending word of her majesty, won their hearts so completely as these tears of the mother. Every mother felt for this woman, who, though a queen, suffered a mother's anguish; and every maiden wept with this young girl, who, although entering upon a splendid future, shed hot tears over the happy past and the beloved home. When the men saw their wives and children weeping, and the prince not ashamed of his tears, they also wept, from sympathy and love to the royal house. In place of the gay jest and merry laughter wont to prevail between the acts, scarcely suppressed sobs were the only sounds to be heard. The glorious singer Salimberri was unapplauded. The Barbarina danced, but the accustomed bravos were hushed.

Was it the remembrance of this touching scene which moved the king so profoundly? Did this eternal separation from his beloved sister weigh upon his heart? The king himself knew not, or he would not acknowledge to himself what emotion produced this wild unrest. After laying his flute aside, he took up Livy, which lay always upon his writing-table, and tried to read a Chapter; but the letters danced before his eyes, and his thoughts wandered far away from the old Roman. He threw the book peevishly aside, and, folding his arms, walked rapidly backward and forward.

„Ah me! ah me! I wish this were the day of battle!“ he murmured. „To-day I should be surely victorious! I am in a fierce and desperate mood. The wild roar of conflict would be welcome as a sweet home song in a strange land, and the shedding of blood would be medicinal, and relieve my oppressed brain. What is it which has drawn this veil over my spirit? What mighty and mysterious power has stretched her hand over me? With what bounds am I held a helpless captive? I feel, but I cannot see them, and cannot tear them apart. No, no! I will be lord of myself. I will be no silent dreamer. I will live a true life. I will work, and be a faithful ruler, if I cannot be a free and happy man.“

He rang the bell, and ordered the ministers to assemble for a cabinet council.

„I will work, and forget every thing else,“ he said, with a sad smile, and he entered his cabinet with this proud resolve.

This time the king deceived himself. The most earnest occupation did not drive the cloud from his brow: in fact, it became more lowering.

„I cannot endure this,“ he said, after walking backward and forward thoughtfully. „I will put a stop to it. As I am not a Ulysses, I do not see why I should bind my eyes, and stop my ears with wax, in order not to see this bewildering siren, and hear her intoxicating song. In this sorrowful and pitiful world, is it not a happiness to meet with an enchantress, to bow down to the magic of her charms, and for a small half hour to dream of bliss? All other men are mad: why should I alone be reasonable? Come, then, spirit of love and bliss, heavenly insanity, take possession of my struggling soul. Let old age be wise and cool, I am young and warm. For a little while I will play the fool, and forget my miserable dignity.“

Frederick called his servant, and sent for General Rothenberg, then took his flute and began to play softly. When the general entered, the king nodded to him, but quietly finished his adagio; then laid the flute aside, and gave his hand to his friend.

„You must be Pylades, my friend, and banish the despondency which oppresses the heart and head of thy poor Orestes.“

„I will be all that your majesty allows or commands me to be,“ said the general, laughing; „but I think the queen-mother would be little pleased to hear your majesty compare yourself to Orestes.“

„Ah, you allude to Clytemnestra's faithless love-story, with which, truly, my exalted and virtuous mother cannot be associated. Well, my comparison is a little lame, but my despondency is real--deeply seated as my friendship for you.“

„How! your majesty is melancholy? I understand this mood of my king,“ said Rothenberg. „It only takes possession of you the day before some great deed, and only then because the night before the day of triumph seems too long. Your majesty confesses that you are sad. I conclude, therefore, that we will soon have war, and soon rejoice in the victories of our king.“

„Perhaps you are right,“ said the king, smiling. „I do not love war, but it is sometimes a necessary evil; and if I cannot relieve my godmother, Maria Theresa, of this mortal malady of pride and superciliousness without a general blood-letting, I must even play the physician and open a vein. The alliance with France is concluded; Charles the Seventh goes to Frankfort for coronation; the French ambassador accompanies him, and my army stands ready for battle, ready to protect the emperor against Austria. We will soon have war, friend, and I hope we will soon have a victory to celebrate. In a few weeks we will advance. Oh, Rothenberg! when I speak of battle, I feel that I am young, that my heart is not of stone--it bounds and beats as if it would break down its prison walls, and found a new home of glory and fame.“

„The heart of my king will be ever young; it is full of trust and kindliness.“

Frederick shook his head thoughtfully. „Do not believe that, Rothenberg; the hands that labor become hard and callous, and so is it with the heart. Mine has labored and suffered; it will turn at last to stone. Then I shall be condemned. The world will forget that it is responsible; they will speak only of my hard heart, and say nothing of the anguish and the deceptions which have turned me to stone. But what of that? Let these foolish two-legged creatures, who proudly proclaim that they are made in the image of God, say what they please of me; they cannot deprive me of my fame and my immortality. He who possesses that has received his reward, and dare utter no complaint. Truly Erostratus and Schinderhannes are celebrated, and Eulenspiegle is better known and beloved by the people than Socrates.“

„This proves that Wisdom herself must take the trouble to make herself popular,“ said Rothenberg. „True fame is only obtained by popularity. Alexander the Great and Caesar were popular, and their names were therefore in the mouths of the people. This was their inheritance, handed down from generation to generation, from father to son. So will it be with King Frederick the Second. He is not only the king and the hero, but he is the man of the people. His fame will not be written alone on the tablets of history by the Muses; the people will write it on the pure, white, vacant leaves of their Bibles; the children and grandchildren will read it; and, centuries hence, the curious searchers into history will consider this as fame, and exalt the name of Frederick the Great.“

„God grant it may be so!“ said the king solemnly. „You know that I am ambitious. I believe that this passion is the most enduring, and that its burning thirst is never quenched. As crown prince, I was ever humiliated by the thought that the love, consideration, and respect shown to me was no tribute to my worth, but was offered to a prince, the son of a powerful king. With what admiration, with what enthusiasm did I look at Voltaire! he needed no high birth, no title, to be considered, honored, and envied by the whole world. I, however, must have rank, title, princely revenues, and a royal genealogical tree, in order to fix the eyes of men upon me. Ah, how often did I remind myself of the history of that great prince, who, surrounded by his enemies, and about to surrender, saw his servants and friends despairing and weeping around him! He smiled upon them, and uttered these few but expressive words: 'I feel by your tears that I am still a king.' I swore then to be like that noble man, to owe my fame, not to my royal mantle, but to myself. I have fulfilled but a small portion of my oath. I hope that my godmother, Maria Theresa, and the Russian empress, will soon afford me more enlarged opportunities. Our enemies are indeed our best friends; they enrage and inspire us.“

„In so saying, sire, you condemn us all, we who are the most faithful, submissive, and enthusiastic friends of your highness.“

„You are also useful to me,“ said the king. „You, for example, your cheerful, loving face does me good whenever I look upon it. You keep my heart young and fresh, and teach me to laugh, which pleasant art I am constantly forgetting in the midst of these wearisome and hypocritical men. I never laugh so merrily as when I am with you at your table, where I have the high privilege of laying aside my royalty, and being a simple, happy man like yourself. I rejoice in the prospect of this evening, and I am impatient as a young maiden before her first ball. This evening, if I remember correctly, I am invited by General von Rothenberg to a petit souper.“

„Your majesty was kind enough to promise me that you would come.“

„Do you know, Rothenberg, I really believe that the expectation of this fete has made the hours of the day so long and wearisome. Now, tell me, who are we to have? who takes part in our gayety?“

„Those who were selected by your majesty: Chazot and Algarotti, Jordan and Bielfeld.“

„Did I select the company?“ said the king, thoughtfully; „then I wonder that--“ He stopped, and, looking down, turned away silently.

„What causes your majesty's wonder?“ said the general.

„I am surprised that I did not ask you to give us Rhine wine this evening,“ said the king, with a sly smile.

„Rhine wine! why, your majesty has often told me that it was a slow poison, and produced death.“

„Yes, that is true, but what will you have? There are many things in this incomprehensible world which are poisonous, and which, for that reason, are the more alluring. This is peculiarly so with women. He does well who avoids them; they bewilder our reason and make our hearts sick, but we do not flee from them. We pursue them, and the poison which they infuse in our veins is sweet; we quaff it rapturously, though death is in the cup.“

„In this, however, your majesty is wiser than all other men: you alone have the power to turn away from or withstand them.“

„Who knows? perhaps that is sheer cowardice,“ said the king; he turned away confused, and beat with his fingers upon the window- glass. „I called the Rhine wine poison, because of its strength. I think now that it alone deserves to be called wine--it is the only wine which has bloom.“ Frederick was again silent, and beat a march upon the window.

The general looked at him anxiously and thoughtfully; suddenly his countenance cleared, and a half-suppressed smile played upon his lips.

„I will allow myself to add a conclusive word to those of my king, that is, a moral to his fable. Your majesty says Rhine wine is the only wine which deserves the name, because it alone has bloom. So I will call that society only society which is graced and adorned by women. Women are the bloom of society. Do you not agree with me, sire?“

„If I agree to that proposition, it amounts to a request that you will invite women to our fete this evening--will it not?“ said the king, still thrumming on the window.

„And with what rapture would I fulfil your wish, but I fear it would be difficult to induce the ladies to come to the house of a young bachelor as I am!“

„Ah, bah! I have determined during the next winter to give these little suppers very often. I will have a private table, and women shall be present.“

„Yes, but your majesty is married.“

„They would come if I were a bachelor. The Countess Carnas, Frau von Brandt, the Kleist, and the Morien, are too witty and too intellectual to be restrained by narrow-minded prejudice.“

„Does your majesty wish that I should invite these ladies?“ said the general; „they will come, without doubt, if your majesty commands it. Shall I invite them?“

The king hesitated a moment to reply. „Perhaps they would not come willingly,“ said he; „you are unmarried, and they might be afraid of their husbands' anger.“

„I must, then, invite ladies who are not married,“ said Rothenberg, whose face was now radiant with delight; „but I do not know one unmarried lady of the higher circles who carries her freedom from prejudice so far as to dare attend a bachelor's supper.“

„Must we always confine our invitations to the higher circles?“ said the king, beating his parade march still more violently upon the window.

Rothenberg watched him with the eye of a sportsman, who sees the wild deer brought to bay.

„If your majesty will condescend to set etiquette aside, I will make a proposition.“

„Etiquette is nonsense and folly, and shall not do the honors by our petits soupers; pleasure only presides.“

„Then I propose that we invite some of the ladies from the theatre-- is your majesty content?“

„Fully! but which of the ladies?“ said the king.

„That is your majesty's affair,“ said Rothenberg, smiling. „You have selected the gentlemen, will it please you to name the ladies?“

„Well, then,“ said the king, hesitating, „what say you to Cochois, Astrea, and the little Petrea?“

„Sire, they will be all most welcome; but I pray you to allow me to add one name to your list, the name of a woman who is more lovely, more gracious, more intellectual, more alluring, than all the prima donnas of the world; who has the power to intoxicate all men, not excepting emperors and kings, and make them her willing slaves. Dare I name her, sire?“

„Certainly.“

„The Signora Barbarina.“

The king turned his head hastily, and his burning eyes rested questioningly upon the face of Rothenberg, who met his glance with a merry look.

Frederick was silent; and the general, making a profound bow, said solemnly: „I pray your majesty to allow me to invite Mesdames Cochois, Astrea, and Petrea, also the Signora Barbarina, to our petit souper.“

„Four prima donnas at once!“ said the king, laughing; „that would be dangerous; we would, perhaps, have the interesting spectacle of seeing them tear out each other's eyes. No, no! to enjoy the glories of the sun, there must be no rival suns in the horizon; we will invite but one enchantress, and as you are the host, you have the undoubted right to select her. Let it be then the Signora Barbarina.“ [Footnote: Rodenbeck: „Journal of Frederick the Great.“]

„Your majesty graciously permits me to invite the Signora Barbarina?“ said Rothenberg, looking the king steadily in the face; a rich blush suffused the cheeks of Frederick. Suddenly he laughed aloud, and laying his arm around the neck of his friend, he looked in his radiant face with an expression of confidence and love.

„You are a provoking scamp,“ said Frederick. „You understood me from the beginning, and left me hanging, like Absalom, upon the tree. That was cruel, Rothenberg.“

„Cruel, but well deserved, sire. Why would you not make known your wishes clearly? Why leave me to guess them?“

„Why? My God! it is sometimes so agreeable and convenient to have your wishes guessed. The murder is out. You will invite the beautiful Barbarina. You can also invite another gentleman, an artist, in order that the lovely Italian may not feel so lonely amongst us barbarians.“

„What artist, sire?“

„The painter Pesne; go yourself to invite him. It might be well for him to bring paper and pencil--he will assuredly have an irresistible desire to make a sketch of this beautiful nymph.“

„Command him to do so, sire, and then to make a life-size picture from the sketch.“

„Ah! so you wish a portrait of the Barbarina?“

„Yes, sire; but not for myself.“

„For whom, then?“

„To have the pleasure of presenting it to my king.“

„And why?“

„Because I am vain enough to believe that, as my present, the picture would have some value in your eyes,“ said Rothenberg, mockingly. „What cares my king for a portrait of the Barbarina? Nothing, sans doute. But when this picture is not only painted by the great Pesne, but is also the gift of a dear, faithful friend, I wager it will be highly appreciated by your majesty, and you will perhaps be gracious enough to hang it in your room.“

„You! you!“ said the king, pointing his finger threateningly at Rothenberg, „I am afraid of you. I believe you listen to and comprehend my most secret thoughts, and form your petition according to my wishes. I will, like a good-natured, easy fool, grant this request. Go and invite the Barbarina and the painter Pesne, and commission him to paint a life-size picture of the fair one. [Footnote: This splendid picture of Barbarina hung for a long time in the king's cabinet, and is still to be seen in the Royal Palace at Berlin.] Pesne must have several sketches, and I will choose from amongst them.“

„I thank your majesty,“ cried the general; „and now have the goodness to dismiss me--I must make my preparations.“

As Rothenberg stood upon the threshold, the king called him. „You have guessed my thoughts, and now I will prove to you that I read yours. You think I am in love.“

„In love? What! I dare to think that?“ said the general; and folding his hands he raised his eyes as if in prayer. „Shall I dare to have such an unholy thought in connection with my anointed king?“

The king laughed heartily. „As to my sanctity, I think the holy Antonius will not proclaim me as his brother. But I am not exactly in love.“ He stepped to the window, upon the sill of which a Japanese rose stood in rich bloom; he plucked one of the lovely flowers, and handing it to the general, he said: „Look, now! is it not enchantingly beautiful? Think you, that because I am a king, I have no heart, no thirst for beauty? Go! but remember that, though a king, I have the eyes and the passions of other men. I, too, am intoxicated by the perfume of flowers and the beauty of women.“